crowman- the engine always runs like a dream- she's fuel injected so even on a crisp cold morning one push of the start button and it fires up and is ready to ride. No choke, no coughing and spluttering any time. The new exhaust system has the mount in place for the exhaust temp sensor in the header (a few inches from the cylinder) just like the stock exhaust did, so the computer makes all the adjustments on the fly to keep it purring.

cjax- the tyres are DOT rated making them legal for road use which is why I chose them. If I was choosing a 100% dedicated offroad tyre I would choose a Michelin S12 or similar but this was the most aggressive offroader I could find with a road safe rating, however they will have less road manners than the original tourance, I don't expect to be leaning in as hard through the twisties on road surface, but will be going much harder off road in the scrub. The font guard is from OTR ( http://www.off-the-road.de/en/home/) and yes it is designed specifically for our bikes. I needed to remove the splash guard to prevent mud build up between the front tyre and splash-guard but then the original half front-guard would not protect the radiator/bike.

tacomodo- I'll work on a video over the weekend when we head away. It is a good sound thump-thump-thump, it's louder all around however it's not a nuisance when cruising, but then it certainly barks loudly! when you open the throttle, then I'd guess it's about half way between open throttle and cruising volume when I decelerate.

Thanks for the comments